Alarm mechanism for clocks



M. A.GAGE.

ALARM MECHANISM FOR CLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. 1915.

1,327,669, Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

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M. A. GAGE.

ALARM MECHANISM FOR fiL'ocKs.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23, 1915.

1,327,669, a Patehted Jan. 13,1920. v 4' 3SHEET$SHEET Z- I M. A.GAGE.

ALARM MECHANISM FOR CLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.23. l9l5.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- MATTIE A. GAGE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ALARM MECHANISM FOR CLOCKS,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

Application filed March 23, 1915. Serial No. 16,363.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTIE A. GAGE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have made and invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alarm Mechanism for Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

-My invention relates to clocks and more particularly to alarm clocks, and the main object of my invention is to provide a simple attachment readily applied to alarm clocks of the ordinary type which will, in addition to the ordinary alarm, provide for a special alarnrwhich may be set to sound accurately upon the completion of short intervals of time.

In accordance with this object of .my invention there is provided an additional hand or indicator, and setting and operating mechanism therefor, whereby after the setting of the hand or indicator for apredetermined short interval, the hand will be caused to move from such set position to a zero position at a predetermined rate of speed and will, upon reaching its zero position, cause the sounding of an alarm. The indicator or hand and the setting and operating mechanism may be applied to already existing forms of alarm clocks with the addition of but few and simple parts which maybe easily constructed and applied. I provide means whereby either the ordinary alarm or the special alarm may be brought into operation independently of each other, or both may be rendered inoperative.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide a simple means for varying the relation of the gong and clapper whereby the volume of sound produced in the operation of the clapper may be varied. This is accomplished by making the gong and clapper adjustable with respect to each other and transversely of the body of the clock.

Means is also provided for separately connecting the minute alarm mechanism with, and disconnecting it from the regular hour alarm mechanism of the clock and for interrupting entirely the alarm mechanism, said means constituting a combined controlling member and shut off switch for the alarm mechanism of the clock.

Other features of this invention relate to the details of construction of the clutch mechanism for driving the special alarm at- I tachment, the construction and method of mounting the means for controlling the alarm, releasing or let off mechanism, and

other details of construction and combina tion of parts whereby there is produced a simple and accurately operating device.

a In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of .a clock emvbodying the features of this invention.

Fig. 2 isa view in front elevation of the clock with face and hands removed.

Fig. 3 is a" detail View of the verge or escapement shaft and associated parts.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the mechanism of the clock embodying this invention.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the escapement shaft, illustrating the mounting of the hammer and the trigger mechanisnn Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the minute alarm hand shaft and clutch mechanism associated therewith.

Fig. 7 is a view of the hour alarm shaft and parts of the mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation with parts in section of the clock'illustrating the hammer adjustment feature, and

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are fragmentary detail views illustrating the hammer and trigger adjusting means. I

As shown in the drawings, 5 designates a barrel or body portion of a clock within which are located a front and back frame plate and 7 secured together by means of posts 8, 8, 8, 8. The plates 6 and 7 support the usual gears and springs of an ordinary clock mechanism and in addition, certain parts which are added in accordance with certain features of my invention. 10 desig nates the hour hand, 11 the minute hand, 12 the usual alarm setting hand and 14 a hand which is supplied for the special alarm of this invention.

The hand 14 is mounted upon a shaft 15 which extends from the front of the clock to the rear thereof and is provided upon its rear end with the usual knurled thumb nut.

Secured to the shaft 15 adjacent to the outer face of the front plate 6. is a conical shaped clutch member 16 adapted to cooperate with a pinion 17 which is connected by means of a gear 18 with the cannon pinion on the minute shaft, the ratio of the gearing being 'such that the pinion 17 will be caused tomake one complete revolution each hour. The pinion 17 has a portion of its inner surface tapered as shown at 20 to frictionally engage the cone surface of the clutch member 16.

' In order to cause the operative engage ment of the pinion l7 and the clutch mem. ber 16, said clutch member is provided upon its rear face with a cam surface having an abrupt portion 21 and coiiperating with a pin 22 in the frame member 6. This cam surface is such that upon a slight turning of the shaft 15 in a clockwise direction as shown by the arrow, the shaft 15 will be moved outwardly and the clutch member 16 will be forced into engagement with the pinion 17 which is held with suflicient pressure by means of a spring 23 to cause the pinion 17 and shaft 15 to rotate together until the abrupt portion 21 of the cam surface comes opposite the pin 22 when the pressure will be relieved and the pinion 17 and shaft 15 will be free of each other until reset. The spring 23 is attached at one end to the plate 6 and has its ither end free and adapted to engage a trigger 25 carried by a shaft 26 upon which is mounted the alarm verge or escapement 27 and upon which is also mounted a clapper 28 to strike a gong 29. When the clutch member 16 and the pinion 17 are in operative engagement the alarm verge will be held against operation by the engagement of the spring 23 with the trigger 25 but when the cam drops ofi of the pin 22 the spring 23 will be moved out of engagement with the trigger 25 and the alarm operated as will be described more fully hereinafter.

It will be readily apparent from the structure just described that after the spe cial or minute alarm hand is once set it will travel in synchronism with the minute hand of the clock until it-reaches a zero position when it will drop off, become disassociated. with its clutch and remain in such position until again reset by the user. With the scale of the minute alarm divided into sixty equal parts it is evident that the special alarm may be set to sound for any number of desired minutes between one and fiftynine, and a by making this scale slightly larger and accurately graduating it even fractions of minutes may be obtained upon the special alarm mechanism. It will of course be immaterial at what point-around the shaft 15 the pin 22 is placed so long as the hand 14 is mounted upon the shaft to point to zero when the pin 22 is in the abrupt portion 21. As illustrated in Fig. l the special alarm is set to sound in forty five minutes which with relation to the regular hands of the clock will be at eleven oclock. I

Referring now to the alarm let off mechanism and the controlling parts, it will be noted that the shaft 26 carrying the alarm escapement or verge 27 is formed of square .carrying the hour alarm hand 12.

material and is mounted between the plates 6 and 7 with the verge 27 about midway between its ends. Mounted upon one end of the shaft 26 between'the verge 27 and the front plate 6 is a square sleeve 30 which is movable longitudinally of the shaft 26 and carries the trigger 25 coiiperating with the alarm let off spring 23 associated with the special alarm, and a trigger 31 cotiperating with an alarm let off spring 32 associated with the hour or regular alarm mechanism. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the hour alarm let off spring 32 which has one end secured to the front plate 6, projects upward and back of a gear 33 mounted upon a shaft 34 The gear 33 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 34 and hasa cam surface upon its front face, similar to that on the member 16, adapted to cooperate with a pin 36 in said shaft in a manner similar to the coiiperation of the cam on the member 16 with the pin 22 except that in the case of the hour alarm let off, the spring 32 moves outwardly from the plate 6 whereas in the special or minute alarm let off the spring 23 moves inwardly toward the plate 6. Formed integrally with the sleeve 30 is an arm 37 which extends up wardly therefrom into. engagement with arms 38 and 39 of a slide plate 40 (see Fig. 9). This slide plate 40 is curved to conform to the curvature of the barrel 5 of the clock and is held against the inner face thereof by means of a knob 41 having a reduced portion 42 extending downwardly through a slot 43 in the. barrel 5 .and secured to said plate 40. Carried by the upper end of this reduced portion 42 is a pointer or indicator 45 adapted to, register with the letters S-Hand M embossed, stamped or painted upon the outer surface of the barrel 5 and designating silent, hour and minutes respectively. The upper end of the hour alarm let off spring 32 is bent over the top of the plate 6 as shown at 48 into position to be engaged by the trigger 31. When the slide plate is in position with the indicator 45 pointing to S or silent the trigger 31 will be in engagement with the portion 48 of the spring 32 to such an extent that said spring 48 cannot be moved out of engagement therewith when the pin 36 is in the lowest portion of the cam surface 35. With the trigger 31 in this position of the slee e 30, the trigger 25 will be clear from engagmg position with the spring 23. When the pointer 45 is moved opposite H or the hour position the trigger 31 will be sufiiciently close to the end of the portion 48 of the spring 32 so that when the pin 36 comes into engagement with the lowest portion of the cam surface 35 the spring 32 will move outwardly far enough to be free from the trigger 31. The trigger 25 being still out of engagement with the spring 23 in this position of the parts the alarm will be permitted to sound. When the pointer is moved opposite M or minutes, the trigger 31 will be out of position to engage the spring 32 but thetrigger 25 will be brought into a position where it will engage the spring 23 when this spring is in the position to which it is moved when the pin 22 is in engagement with a portion of the cam on the member 16 away from the abrupt portion 21. When the abrupt portion 21 comes opposite to the pin 22 however the spring 23 will move inwardly a sufficient distance to carry it away from engagement with the trigger 25 and the alarm verge will become operative.

Referring now to the means provided for varying the volume of the tone produced. It will be noted that the clapper 28 is carried by a square sleeve 50 mounted upon the shaft 26, said sleeve being located between the verge 27 and the back plate 7 and movable longitudinally of the shaft 26. Formed integrally with the sleeve 50 is an arm 51 which extends upwardly therefrom into engagement with arms 52 and 53 of a slide plate 54: as shown in Fig. 9. The slide plate 54 is curved to conform to the curvature of the barrel 5 and is held against the inner surface of the barrel 5 by means of a knob 55, having a reduced portion 56 extending downwardly through a slot 57 in the barrel 5 and attached to said plate 54:. The knob 55 carries a pointer 58 adapted to be moved into positions designated on the outer surface of the barrel 5 with the letters L and S designating loud and soft. It will be noted by reference to'Fig. 8 that there is a space 60 between the inner edge of the gong 29 and the back plate 7 and when the knob 55 is moved into position with the pointer 58 opposite S or soft, the clapper 28 will be brought into a position whereby it will vibrate in the space 60 without striking the gong 29. In the other or L position of the pointer 58 the clapper 28 will strike the gong 29 as it is vibrated.

By providing the square shaft for the alarm escapement or verge, the sleeves 30 and 50 carrying the triggers 25 and 31 and the clapper 28 may each be formed of a single piece of material and may by reason of their shapes be made to vibrate with the shaft 26 without the use of pins and slots as would be necessary with a round shaft and still be readily movable longitudinally of the shaft. By having the arms 37 and 51 adapted to engage the arms 38 and 39, and 52 and 53 of the slide plates 40 and 54 respectively, longitudinal movement may be transmitted to the sleeves 30 and 50 and no obstruction will be offered to the vibratorv movement of the sleeves.

Having now described my invention, which may vary in detail without departing from the spirit thereof, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an alarm clock, a'dial and hands for indicating the hours and minutes, a clock train for controlling the movement of said hands, an alarm attachment for said clocks including a hand having a let off position, means controlled from the rear of the clock for setting said hand at any desired position, driving frictional mechanism controlled by the clock train for moving said alarm hand from its set to its let off position, and alarm let off mechanism adapted to be actuated only when said hand has been moved into its let off position.

2. In an alarm clock, a dial and hands for indicating the hours and minutes. a clock train for controlling said hands. an alarm hand for said clock having a let off position, a scale divided into fractional parts of an hour, means controlled from the rear of theclock for setting said alarm hand at any position on said scale, frictional clutch mecha nism operated in the setting operation of said hand to cause said alarm hand to be driven in synchronism with the minute hand of the clock, and alarm let off mechanism actuated only when said alarm hand has reached its let off position whereby the alarm will be sounded only at the expiration of a given number of minutes corresponding with the setting of thealarm hand.

3. In analarm clock, a dial and hands for 5 tion, means operated only in the zero or stop position of said hand for sounding an alarm, a shaft for setting said hand, a conical member on said shaft having, a cam surface on one end thereof, a pinion loosely mounted on said shaft and having a driving connection with the clock mechanism, said pinion also having a conical cupped surface adapted to engage said conical member, a pin adapt ed to engage said cam surface and a spring adapted to press said pinion into operative engagement with said conical member only while the higher portions of said cam surface are in engagement with said pin. 1

5. In an alarm clock, an alarm mechanism, a setting means for said alarm mechanism,

ofi' mechanism mounted upon said verge or escapement shaft and movable longitudinally thereof.

6. In an alarm clock, separate alarm controlling mechanisms for sounding hour or minute alarms, a verge escapement shaft, alarm releasing triggers slidably mounted upon said verge escapement shaft, and means for moving said triggers longitudinally of said verge escapement shaft for separately controlling the operation of the minute or hour alarm, or rendering said alarm mechanism inoperative.

7 In an alarm clock, a main dial, hands for indicating the hours and minutes on said dial, a clock train for controlling the movement of said hands, an alarm hand having a let off position, a spindle upon which said hand is carried extending through said clock and controllable from the rear thereof for setting said hand, a pinion on said spindle driven from said clock train and normally disengaged from said spindle, and means operated in the setting of said hand to cause said pinion and spindle to r0- tate together to the let ofl position of said alarm hand.

8. In an alarm clock, a main dial, and hands for indicating hours and minutes able upon the turning of said spindle to move it longitudinally and into engagement with said pinion to cause said hand to be moved to a let off positionby said clock train. i

9. In an alarm clock, a main dial and 'hands for indicating hours and minutes thereon, a clock train for moving said hands, an alarm hand having a let ofl position, a spindle on which said alarm hand is carried, a pinion rotatably mounted upon said spindle, means operative upon rotation of said spindle to engage said pinion therewith, a laterally movable spring adapted to maintain said spindle and said pinion in operative engagement and an alarm trigger controlled by the movement of said sprlng.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this twenty-second day of March, A. D., 1915.

MATTIE A. GAGE.

Witnesses:

CHAS. H. LAUssoN, ROSE A. ONEILL. 

